The most recent batch of graduates of the University of Guyana’s pharmacy programme have begun their internship at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
This comes several days after concerns were raised by graduates over the delay in the commencement of their internships, which is mandatory before they can obtain licences to practise as professional pharmacists.At least 17 graduates have been contacted and would have undergone an orientation process on Monday at the GPHC.
This was also confirmed by Minister within the Ministry of Public Health Dr. Karen Cummings.
According to a letter written by a graduate, and published in the March 13, 2017 edition of Stabroek News, the Pharmacy Council of Guyana made it a law in 2003 that all pharmacy graduates of the University of Guyana must complete an internship programme of not less than six months, before obtaining a licence to practise as a professional pharmacist.
But while graduates of the 2016 Bachelor of Pharmacy degree programme at UG should have started their internship on January 2, there was a delay which was blamed on the unpreparedness of the Pharmacy Council.
Several attempts were made to contact the Pharmacy Council regarding the issues, however all such attempts were futile.
“They told us we needed to pay a registration fee of $5,000 before February 27, 2017 and provide certain information and a job application to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, so that the internship programme could commence thereafter.
The Pharmacy Council has not yet issued a formal letter or email to the registered students stating the date, time and place as to when the internship will start,” the letter stated.
As a result, the graduates were of the opinion that they were being pushed around since they were never informed why steps were not taken to organize the internship programme.
Calls were subsequently made to Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence to provide an urgent solution to the problem. Requests were also made for compensation to be granted for the loss of earning and career advancement because of the unnecessary delay in them being granted licences to practice by the Pharmacy Council.
“We have spent four years of our lives studying hard to be pharmacists because we have a passion for health care provision. The Pharmacy Council by their unconscionable and unprofessional delay has prevented better health provision being made available to those patients in need of health care,” the letter concluded.
